The Human Lizard and the Prince’s Pride

I felt a surging wave of betrayal wash over me. As if my world were collapsing, I glared at Kaiern. I had truly believed he cherished Chase more than anyone else in the world.

There were times when I couldn’t understand why he never stopped Chase’s destructive path in the original story, but I had simply assumed he loved Chase so much that he wanted to let him have whatever he desired.

But contrary to my expectations, Kaiern viewed Chase as nothing more than the ‘son’ of a ‘friend.’

‘If he truly cherished him and wanted to protect him, he would have followed Dalia when she left the Great Forest.’

Or he would have protected her so she never had to leave in the first place. Only now did his incomprehensible actions begin to make sense.

“…Chase might be safe because you are here, Kaiern, but if that prophecy isn’t corrected, he can never live a normal life.”

Perhaps it was a species gap. Dragons were fiercely independent creatures who lived solitary lives, so maybe he couldn’t grasp the concept of social interaction. I tried to explain one more time. Even if Kaiern saw Chase as a mere footnote or a “buy-one-get-one-free” extra to his father, I hoped he would change his mind after hearing me. But his response was utterly indifferent.

[It doesn’t matter.]

The lazy answer—as if only keeping the boy’s pulse going was enough—made my blood boil.

I could have accepted it if he ignored Chase’s chance at a normal life because he genuinely believed the White Dragon’s prophecy that Chase was dangerous. But Kaiern didn’t even think that far. To him, Chase was just a “precious item” belonging to a friend, so he would protect it from breaking. That was it.

There was no affection. No responsibility.

‘And they call this a “Great Being”?’

Everyone praised dragons as “Great Beings.” They were revered for their power and knowledge, but in my estimation, that title was a farce.

‘He’s just a giant lizard that knows how to talk.’

The anger simmering in my gut finally erupted. Higher sentient beings are supposed to feel empathy. What separates a human from a beast? Seeing a dragon—regarded as higher than humans—unable to properly care for a single child made the title “Great Being” feel like a joke.

I was furious. I was furious at myself for trusting him until now.

‘To think I was going to send Chase to a guy like this.’

Even as a mere human, I live my life to the fullest to take responsibility for my mistakes. Yet this “Great Lord” wouldn’t take responsibility for one boy. The world in the original novel I loved was essentially destroyed because of this jerk.

“You son of a b*tch!”

The moment the thought struck, I swung my fist at his front leg. I didn’t just punch him; I coated my fist in Divine Authority and let it fly. Normally, a human fist wouldn’t even tickle Kaiern, but since it was a punch packed with Divine Power, it must have stung. The sight of the massive dragon flinching and pulling back his leg gave me a momentary sense of cathaxy, but my rage didn’t subside. I kept swinging, giving him a thorough beating with my Authority.

[Wait… stop!]

I was livid, but I didn’t actually intend to kill Kaiern. It was more the unbearable sense of betrayal from a “reader’s” perspective—finding out that the character I thought was the protagonist’s ally was actually the biggest villain of all.

Since my feelings were hurt, I wanted him to suffer too. My “attack” was surprisingly effective; every time I landed a hit, the dragon winced and curled into a tighter ball.

Seeing the dragon cower while begging me to stop cooled my head, but suddenly, something surged up from deep within my chest.

“Ugh! Ack…!”

Blood backflowed from my stomach, filling my mouth. I spat it out with a wet retch and collapsed, clutching my belly. The pain felt like my intestines were being wrung like a wet towel, and more blood began to spill uncontrollably from my lips.

‘Ah, I’m dying.’

The Divine Power in my body had been suppressing Kaiern’s poison; that was the only reason I was still alive. By exhausting that power to beat him up, the poison I’d been holding back began to circulate through my body again.

As I coughed up mouthfuls of blood, I worried. If I died, would this sociopathic dragon really look after Chase? Or would the story follow the original plot and make Chase miserable again?

‘Chase is going to be in trouble again.’

I should have just told him to run, dragon or not. I trusted the original story too much. I wanted to do well, but I failed. I couldn’t stop the tears of regret and apology that began to flow.

[Why… why are you doing this?]

In front of me, as I lay dying in silence, the dragon was in a panic, stammering that he was the one who got hit, so why was I the one dying?

Dog-like bastard. I glared at him with a dying resentment, intending to become a vengeful ghost and curse him forever. Suddenly, the dragon’s body began to shrink.

His four-legged form stood upright, growing long limbs. Kaiern had taken on a human shape.

“You really are a strange kid.”

The dragon, now transformed into a human boy around my age, approached and crouched down to peer at me.

Insulted at being stared at like a circus attraction, I glared back fiercely. His gold-sparkling eyes curved into crescents. His face was full of amusement.

“Die…”

“You want me to die? But you’re the one dying right now, not me.”

I told him to go to hell, but he shot back with a smooth, playful retort. He grinned at my gritted teeth, then suddenly looked startled and reached out.

“Yikes, you really are dying.”

In an instant, Kaiern’s mana flowed into me. For a second, I panicked, thinking he was finishing the job, but his mana was soft and gentle. it entered my body and began to soothe the rampaging poison. The turmoil in my stomach subsided, and the blood leaking from my mouth stopped. As my fading consciousness sharpened, Kaiern pulled his hand away. The poison was no longer thrashing within me.

“…I’m alive?”

“Yep. You’re alive.”

As I muttered, Kaiern remained crouched near me, smirking. Having been certain of my death, I grabbed him as hope suddenly surged.

“You!”

“Yeah?”

“Can you take the poison out of my body?”

My reflection was mirrored in the slit pupils of his yellow eyes. Kaiern looked at my expectant face for a long moment, then slowly shook his head.

“No, I can’t.”

“But just now…”

“I can use my power to control the rampaging, like I just did. But it’s not just my breath in there; that man’s power is mixed in. I can’t drive it out of this body.”

My disappointment was palpable. The hope I had kindled died out like a flame in a vacuum, and the light faded from my eyes. But I didn’t fall into total despair.

‘I already knew.’

I remembered that even in the original novel, Kaiern couldn’t detoxify the poison. Yet, even knowing that, a foolish, lingering hope had bloomed anyway. How pathetic.

Kaiern watched my reaction with an intrigued expression and whispered, “You really are strange.”

So what? I ignored him and stood up. Until I came here, I had planned to leave Chase with him, but now that I knew he was a sociopathic freak with zero sense of responsibility, that plan was in the trash.

‘I’ll have to meet the White Dragon and talk my way through this somehow.’

Even if the White Dragon intended to make Chase an “Enemy of the World,” I resolved to persuade him otherwise. I turned to look for an exit. When I turned my back on him without a second thought, Kaiern let out a startled sound and chased after me.

“You really are strange.”

Again, so what? I wondered if he had early-onset dementia, but I just kept ignoring him. Whatever he did was none of my business. When I didn’t give him a single glance, he began to spout things I hadn’t even asked.

“Other people get angry when their hopes are crushed like that.”

“…”

“But you accepted it immediately. How can you do that?”

I let out a hollow laugh. Accepted it immediately? Not a chance. By remembering my past life, I knew the original story and I knew my own death. At first, I was furious and wondered “Why me?”, but since everything stemmed from the original Prince’s arrogance, my own pride wouldn’t allow me to blame someone else.

‘It would be different if I were in a state of “hopeful torture” because I didn’t know the future.’

Ah, is that why the original Crown Prince bullied Chase so much? No. Let’s just say he was a jerk. Even I have to admit the original Prince was a bad guy.

Kaiern seemed desperate for an answer, but as I continued to ignore him, he grew frantic. The persistent dragon eventually shouted:

“Should I go to the White Dragon and tell him to change the prophecy?”